5 Ways To Start Make Money Online in 2012

Make money online? You? Yes you can! A lot have tried, a lot of failed, but a lot have also been amazingly successful. Making money online is easier than ever before, so easy that a lot of people have been able to quit their regular jobs and work at whatever time of day they choose just by doing things online.

Our advice to making money in this new year: diversify your portfolio. It’s a good idea to get your hands on as many things as you can, though work on one thing at a time. Once you become a pro at one thing, keep doing it, but then try out another online venture. Below are some of our favorite ways to make great cash online:

1. Start a Blog

Don’t think people want to hear what you’ve got to say? You’ll be surprised by just how many people want to know what you know and share in your life experiences. Blogs are a great way to make some extra cash, but they will take a bit of time to get started. This is why we say you should start up a blog first and get it rolling before you move on to any other ventures.

Blogs aren’t just about having people stop by and read your stuff. You can turn a blog into a profit by selling ad space, creating AdSense ads, doing affiliate marketing promotions, and more. You should learn about SEO (search engine optimization), themes, templates, and where you can get some great royalty free images too so you can create the best blog ever.

TIP: Your first blog may be a total bust, but don’t give up. It often takes people 2-3 times before they create a blog that they love and that will start making them some serious cash.

2. Become a Micro-Jobber

Never heard of microjobs? Microjobs are little tasks that people need to have done, so they go onto the internet, post an advertisement for a small job to be done, and those interested can then respond by submitting a proposal, a resume, and/or a sample of their work. Microjobs are quickly becoming a way for people to earn a great supplementary or even full time income!

There are a number of micro job sites out there, like oDesk and Elance, and Craigslist even often has microjobs posted too. Most of these sites list jobs by category, and there’s a category for everyone, from web design to freelance writing to sales and marketing. Most of these sites require you to register first and it can be a bit hard to get going, but once you do you’ll soon be easily making an extra $500 a month.

3. Sell Things Online

A great way to make cash is to sell things online. People are buying online more and more these days, but the market isn’t so saturated yet that there’s no room for you. Sites like eBay, Craigslist, Amazon and Kijiji are full of people whose full time occupation is just selling stuff over the internet! Each website has its own pros and cons and may work better with some items than others, but test it out and see how it works.
You can sell:

- Stuff around the house you don’t need any more
- Stuff that you find a great deal on, and then flip it and sell it online for market value
- Wholesale items (there are a ton of websites online that sell wholesale, so you buy brand new things for under market value and can then sell them at market value)
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Check into any shipping deals that you can offer too if you plan on selling online. People love to hear the words “free shipping”!

TIP: If you’re crafty and good at making things, definitely start selling your stuff on Etsy. Etsy is one of the biggest sites for selling any homemade items, so you will have a large audience checking out your stuff on a daily basis.

4. Do Surveys

Okay, so this is one of the less fun ways to make money online. No one wants to sit at their computer, slaving away and completing surveys. Not only that, but there are survey sites out there that promise to pay, but they never, ever do.

Surveys do take a bit of time and sure, it can take a while to make more than just a few bucks. But once you find reputable sites and start filling them in, you’ll be surprised by how quickly the money ads up. That extra $5-$10 a day you make filling out mindless surveys quickly turns into hundreds and thousands of dollars a year. Check out Opinion Outpost and Cash Crate if you’re interested.

5. Earn Swag Bucks

Swag Bucks are quickly becoming THE currency of the internet. Swag Bucks is an online portal that helps you earn “digital dollars”, which are referred to as Swag Bucks. These Swag Bucks can then be redeemed for a number of different things that you can find in the Swag Store, like Amazon and Starbucks gift cards, downloads, and a number of different products.

There are a number of different ways that you can earn Swag Bucks. One of the easiest ways is using the Swag Bucks homepage as your search portal. Whenever you enter in a search query, you then have the chance to make some Swag Bucks. Another way is to just simply watch videos that you’re interested in. Your “Swag Bucks” meter increases by the number of videos you watch. Once your meter is full, you then have the chance to earn “Swag Bucks”.

But that’s not all. You can also earn Swag Bucks by:

- Taking surveys
- Playing games
- Filling out time sensitive offers
- Checking out special offers
- Recycle stuff like your old cell phone and game systems
- Make referrals
- Answer polls
Check out their website for more details on how you can make some easy extra cash.